chicago marathon training recap: weeks 5-8

if you’re new here, I’m currently training for my second full marathon – Chicago – on October 9, 2016. I am currently in week 10 of 16, and you can read about weeks 1-4 here, about last year’s race here, and all things running related here.

week 5 – july 18-24 / mileage – planned: 39, completed: 39.08

as I mentioned in the last post, things started to really fall into place during week 4 of my training, after vacation, etc., and this more or less continued throughout the second month of training. week 5 brought a tough, 7 mile hill repeat workout (that has reappeared many times since, so it now feels like the new normal), but I accepted the challenge, as smart runners know that hills are really just speedwork in disguise.

this week’s long run was 14 miles – I really liked the route because it was scenic and not a lot of car traffic to deal with, but the back half was insanely hilly, which made doing the last three miles at marathon pace even more difficult.

I got in two good strength workouts this week, plus a core circuit on saturday after the long run. we did a 23-mile bike ride on sunday as cross-training as well…fun at the time, but maybe overdid it a bit.

week 6 – july 25-31 / mileage – planned: 41, completed: 41.10

another solid week. hill repeats again, plus a workout with 4 miles at tempo pace (for me, 7:12-7:30). tempo runs have been in some other plans I’ve used, but admittedly I’ve always avoided them, because they scare me and I didn’t really know how to do them and what paces I should be hitting. one of the main reasons I love having a coach is that our paces are always defined, so every workout or easy run has a purpose and a plan. tempos are really hard, but I’m learning that they’re manageable when executed properly, and the pain is worth it for feeling totally badass afterwards.

long run this week was 16, which to me is about when it starts to truly feel like a marathon long run. the route I planned out didn’t quite work (a side street we needed to take to get onto a trail ended up actually being a dirt road and was FULL of deer early in the morning), so some improvising was needed and it turned out fine, but essentially was a boring out & back. womp womp.

again got in two strength sessions this week, plus the post-long run core circuit. no cross training or bike ride this week, but we were fairly active throughout the weekend, so nbd.

week 7 – august 1-7 / mileage – planned: 44, completed: 44.10

what do you know, hill repeats again. every week I consider finding a new hill to do these on for variety’s sake, but the hill where we do these is the perfect distance away for a warm up/cool down, there’s not much traffic, and it’s just the right steepness. I think I finally wised up this week and brought water for in between sets, which was a great motivator. this week’s other workout was a fartlek ladder, which was hard but a nice break after a couple weeks of tempos.

this week’s 18-miler went really well for me, and started giving me a lot of confidence in my race goals. last 5 miles were at marathon pace, and I felt really strong throughout and like I could have kept going a bit longer — a good feeling. it probably helped that it was finally a cool morning and was even a bit misty outside, but hey, I’ll take progress however it’s given to me.

thanks to some storms I had to move around some runs this week, which involved a double on one day, but was still able to fit in two strength sessions as usual. I failed on the core workout this week, but we did get in a short bike ride to/from the farmer’s market on sunday for some cross training.

week 8 – august 8-14 / mileage – planned: 40, completed: 40.10

week 8 was a dropdown week which always sounds nice but for whatever reason, they’re always tough for me. this week I really started to feel the cumulative fatigue of marathon training and really had to force myself through the easy runs. one workout this week entailed 5 miles at tempo pace, which terrified me, but as with everything so far, the workouts have been well placed in my training, have felt aligned with my progress, and are challenging but not impossible.

only 1 strength session this week – just was feel wiped out and like a second one wouldn’t really add anything, and may even hurt, since I was so tired. I can be obsessive about following plans, but I’m – trying – to learn to listen to my body that taking a break every now and then can be just as effective as a hard workout, both mentally and physically.

I was dreading this week’s long run, even though it was “only” 14 again. we were in des moines and had been at the state fair the day before, so were tired from walking around, and didn’t eat great (duh). but running in new places is always enjoyable, and the trails in the area are awesome, so it turned out to be a great run and I felt proud for pushing through it. no cross training this week, but we did get in quite a bit of walking the rest of the weekend, exploring des moines breweries – that counts, right?

almost skipped the core circuit this week, but got inspired while watching the olympic women’s marathon on sunday and decided to get it in while we watched. gold medal for me, please!

strength training

I thought I’d briefly mention what I’ve been doing for strength training. For the past several months leading into marathon training (and all throughout my half training in the spring), I was going to barre classes about 3x/week. I’ve never ever liked group fitness classes but really grew to love barre and noticed a difference in my running strength as a result of going consistently. I planned to continue with barre during marathon training, but (1) it’s expensive, and (2) the class schedule doesn’t fit with getting my strength workout in on tues/thurs mornings. I told myself I’d try doing something on my own for a few weeks, and if I couldn’t stick with it, I’d fit barre back into my budget and schedule.

happy to report I’ve been exclusively using Fitness Blender videos and it’s working out great. it’s a free website with a huge range of workouts available – different types (strength, HIIT, barre/yoga/pilates, cardio, toning, etc.), lengths, difficulty level, impact, required equipment, etc. I’ve experimented with quite a few of the videos but have landed on a few favorites:

Total Body Barre (40 minutes) – I love this workout because it includes a lot of similar moves from barre classes, so it helps fill that void. it’s two rounds of 14 different exercises, plus a short stretch/cool down (another thing I like, because I won’t do it on my own), and the only equipment you need are low-weight dumbbells and a chair or countertop.

Squats & Deadlifts Workout (33 minutes) – Probably my other favorite workout. Typically I’ll do this one day, and barre another day, for the week. Whereas barre is more low weight, high reps, this workout is higher weight (if you so choose), fewer reps, and I like doing both in my program to work all different muscles. this workout is an AB/AB format, so you’ll do two exercises twice through, and then move on to the next group, for a total of 6 groups.

Pilates Abs Burner (10 minutes) – favorite ab/core workout. if you’ve done any pilates, you know it’s challenging, but I like that it’s lower impact, not too many crunches (always makes my neck hurt), and is fast, so can easily be added on to another workout or squeezed in if you’re short on time.

Bodyweight Workout (25 minutes) – sometimes I feel like I need a break from squats and deadlifts, or a shorter workout, so on those days I’ll do this one. I don’t like it as much (so many pushups), but it’s my go-to backup workout. no equipment required, which is always nice!

nutrition & fuel

there are so many fuel sources out there — I’m always curious what people use and like! I can’t say I’ve ever loved any of them, but taking in some calories is sort of a necessary evil of marathon training, at least during long runs. last year while training for chicago, I started using gatorade endurance chews, since that’s what is on the race course, and they’re my favorite thing I’ve had so far. you can pretty much only get them on amazon, and they’re not as inexpensive as other things, but when you find what works for you, it’s worth it. I bring these on long runs and usually have 2 chews every 5-7 miles, with water.

I wish I could be one of those people that can run on an empty stomach, but I’m just not. for morning weekday runs (up to 8 miles), I’ll have a banana (or maybe just half) before heading out. that seems to give me enough energy/sugar to get it done without upsetting my stomach. for long runs, I’ll usually eat a banana plus a bagel or toast with peanut butter beforehand – pretty standard.

probably the best decision I’ve made around fueling was to get a camelbak hydration pack. in the past, I’ve run without water, relying on gas stations/drinking foundations/pre-placed water bottles, and have also used a small handheld bottle, and none of it really worked great. I really wish a water fairy could just appear every 2 miles, but alas, I have yet to see this happen, but a camelbak is the next best thing. it took a few weeks to get adjusted to running with it, but now I hardly notice it and can have a sip of water whenever I need, and can easily refill (though I’m yet to need to on a run).

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that’s all for this time! weeks 9-12 will feature both a 20 and 22-miler, plus the start of track workouts, so stop back in a couple of weeks to hear how things are going!